While Cedric Lodge was jailed for 8 years, his wife Denise was sentenced to one year after she admitted taking part in the sale of stolen human remains. The organs they traded included internal organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and dissected heads. Ex-Harvard morgue manager sentenced to 8 years for theft, sale of body parts donated for research (REUTERS) A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the theft and sale of body parts donated for research purposes. The US Department of Justice said in a statement that Cedric Lodge, 58 years old, pleaded guilty to trafficking in the stolen remains. His wife, Denise Lodge, was also sentenced to one year in prison after she admitted taking part in the sale of stolen human remains. The organs he stole and sold included internal organs, brains, skin, hands, faces and dissected heads. He stole body parts from Harvard Medical School from 2018 until at least March 2020. He was dismissed from the university in May 2023, Harvard said. Cedric Lodge and his wife Denise stole body parts from the medical school and took them to Goffstown, New Hampshire. They also took it to locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, “without the knowledge or consent of his employer, the donor or the donor’s family”. They then shipped the body parts to other states. “Today’s sentencing is another step forward in ensuring that those who orchestrated and carried out this heinous crime are brought to justice,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. The Justice Department said many of the human remains sold by Lodge were subsequently resold at a profit. Several of these buyers have been sentenced to prison or are awaiting sentencing, the statement said. The prosecutors demanded a 10-year sentence for the accused. They said the performance was “for the entertainment of the disturbing ‘funny’ community.” “He deeply emotionally injured an untold number of family members who were still left wondering about the abuse of their loved ones’ bodies,” they said. The lawyer representing the Lodges urged the judge to avoid such a “severe” sentence. However, he also acknowledged “the harm his actions caused both to the deceased whose bodies he gruesomely dismembered and their grieving families.” How did Harvard respond? In a statement, Harvard Medical School called Lodge’s actions “abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values ​​that Harvard, our anatomical donors and their loved ones expect and deserve.” It added that it was “deeply saddened for the families of donors who may have been affected.” Massachusetts’ highest court in October allowed several families to file lawsuits against Harvard, alleging that it mishandled the bodies of their loved ones. (With agency input)